Sombre - Short Story

“What if he really take a look at you and sees that really all what there is to you. The twinkly star that he imagined, nothing more than just a fancy bulb. Good for nothing than just to be hung and left to shine on as few people that can stand under it meagre spread.”

The words kept coming back to her, the words no human with a heart should tell someone, especially not one they had once claimed to love.
The cold breeze whipped across her face, and she clenched her teeth. But not as a result of the freezing weather, no, it was grim determination not to shed tears, he didn’t deserve a single tear from her- no longer anyway. It took her some time to realize she had been walking alone for a while. The road was long and empty, the trailing florescent street lights, catching the snowflakes mid-air and given them off as luminescent spikes, she hugged her sweater tighter. She looked round, taking in the environment; serene, and then she hastened her footsteps, wanting nothing more than to be back home with Richard, her fiancé.
She regretted leaving for the date with Andy, regretted making his reasoning that she owed that to him get through to her. She was so stupid to think that he had changed…that he was capable of changing. But she learned her lesson, albeit the hard way- if missing the bus and trekking in the middle of a snowstorm didn’t quality as punishment, what did?
Her phone rang, and she dug in her jean pocket for it. It was an unknown number, and although she was wary of picking calls with hidden ids, her need for some distraction- any- weighed more than any sentiment she might have had about anonymity.
“Hello,” she spoke into the receiver. But there was no response, she thought she could hear soft breathing on the other end, and then the dull beep of a dropped line. She tried to shrug off the anxious feeling that she was being monitored, and the caller was somewhat within the vicinity.
She whispered to herself.
“Deep breath Sally, it’s all in your head. Don’t get all paranoid over a simple call.” The phone rang again.
“Take it easy, take it easy.” She said to herself, before checking out the caller Id, Thank Goodness, she thought, it was Richard.
“Hey Babe…where are you. Dinner is getting cold, and your favourite show has been on since the last ten minutes.”
Relief flooded her. “Sorry, missed the damned bus. Will be home in a jiff,” she thought of mentioning the previous call but didn’t want to work him off over nothing. He might have sensed the reluctance in her voice.
“Sure you’re okay?”
“Try asking me that when I am not at risk of frost bite,” she laughed, trying to ease out the tension in her voice.
“Alright then. See you,” he hesitated, and said,” I love you.”
“I love you too.” She replied, and then he hung up.
Her hands hadn’t completely dropped to her sides when the phone rang again. Thinking it might be Richard calling back to tell her something he had forgotten to, she flipped the phone and the previous silence met her.
She cut it, and searched out Andy’s number. He answered on first ring. Music was blaring in the background, but she didn’t wait for him to speak.
“I can’t believe you would stoop so low. Insulting me is one thing, trying to scare me to death in the middle of the road, is a whole lot of crazy. You need to get yourself checked up. Matter of fact, if you call me one more time, I swear, I’ll dial 911.”She said in one breath, and hung up.
The phone rang again.
But she didn’t bother picking it up. The eerie silence pierced by the loudness of her ringing tune, was all it took for her to lose it.
She broke into a run.
A car came into view, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, and so she kept on running, was there something wrong, where hadn’t she seen anybody…it was like the whole people in the section of that town and gathered together and taken off on vacation to God knows where, all at the same time. But then it hit her, the road construction! How could she have missed it, it had been on the news just last night.
Suddenly there were footsteps behind her, as she turned she saw the car had parked, and two figures emerged, running in her direction. She quicken her pace, damning the days she had missed her morning jogging. She reached for her phone and tried to dial the police, the phone slipped from her hand and fell ceremoniously to the ground. She was running too fast, and so would have to halt to grab it, and the intruders were closing in on her. A look back, and she knew she couldn’t risk it.
And by the virtue of luck, she saw a land cruiser coming in the opposite direction.
She waved frantically, and he pulled over…illuminating her and the foreground with the headlights…the two black cloaked figures turned back and ran in the opposite direction.
She was so shaken up, the Good Samaritan couldn’t get any word out of her, and nodding to his suggestion that they go to the police to file a report, he drove her to the nearest station.

**
The Officer, sat across patiently, nodding empathetically, and offering her a box of Kleenex when she began another bout of tears.
“You have to be open with me now okay, so I can do my job keeping you safe. If you have anyone who you suspect could be responsible for this- anyone, just let me know.”
“Andy,” she whispered, still in awe that he could attempt something so grotesque with her.”
“You’re safe here. Officers Davis, and Trevor would see that you get home safe. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get your phone, but believe me, we’d do our best to get to the root of this.”
Richard met her at the door, and if the sight of a police car piqued him, he didn’t show. But focused fully on sally, taking her to the bedroom, and going back down to have a chat with the officers.
She woke for the second time that night, feeling restless, she got off the bed and went to peek through the bedroom door; the police car was still parked outside. Still, there was still a nagging thought she couldn’t quite grip. It was hanging like an unanswered question at the back of her mind.
Only when she did go through the kitchen to get a glass of milk, did it hit her.
The whirring sound of the freezer.
The sitting room was a visual distance from the kitchen, separated by an arch…when Richard had called, she never heard freezer’s whir, and matter-of-fact…she hadn’t heard any sound at all.

My entry for @gmuxx's Art Prompt Writing Contest #8

Photo credits@sad-dad